Hello all!
I did some testing on CSA range with the M1842. I shot against the 3rd set of targets, and moved backwards to get further distances. All shots were aimed at the center target. Any shot that produced a marker was scored as a hit.
70 Yards
RB Shots Fired: 20 Hits: 18
BB Shots Fired: 20 Hits: 21
100 Yards
RB Shots Fired: 19 Hits: 12
BB Shots Fired: 20 Hits: 13
125 Yards
RB Shots Fired: 19 Hits: 10
BB Shots Fired: 20 Hits: 7
To me, this suggests that Buck and Ball is the more effective option at ranges of less than 100 yards, and Round Ball is the more effective option at ranges of more than 125 yards. I think that there would be no significant difference between the two at ranges of 100-125 yards.
Beyond 125 yards, I think that Buck and Ball would suffer a significant dropoff in effectiveness. This could be confirmed by more testing, but I ran out of time.
One caveat- I didn't test this in volley fire. I don't know how accurate this will be when you have five (or more!) people shooting at once. If someone does decide to test in volley fire, I think that would be great! Just remember to keep the results separate from the individual accuracy tests.
If anyone else wants to experiment, I'd love to compare your results to mine. For reference, the formula to calculate how far to step away from the line is (Target Distance- 70)/1.16666. The end product is how many seconds you need to walk- facing away from the target- in Quicktime at shoulder arms.
Best,
Dman979